¡Viva Lola Espinoza!

¡Viva Lola Espinoza!

By Ella Cerón

Kokila, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023. 392 pages. Young Adult Fiction

Cursed in love, Lola Espinoza finds herself torn between two very different boys during a summer spent with her grandmother in Mexico City, where she tries to break the curse while learning about herself, her heritage and the magic around us all.

Lola's parents have high expectations of her, which means that the majority of her time has been spent studying, not attending the parties that her best friend and opposite, Ava, thinks she should.  So when she doesn't excel in her Spanish language class, Lola is frustrated, but none more so than her parents who decide that she should spend the entire summer away from her friends in California down in Mexico City with her Abuela. Tasked with learning the Spanish language and assimilating with her Mexican family, Lola suddenly finds herself with a romantic interest(s!) and a surprise along with it: a family curse. While Lola is not a vivacious, quippy protagonist, she is a smart and sensible character to connect with.  A candid, thoughtful, coming of age story about first love and cultural identity.   

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RBL